Scholarships and Grants at CTU Colorado Springs

Pursing financial assistance for your education doesn’t have to be intimidating. At CTU Colorado Springs, we’re committed to assisting students with financial aid including the exploration of scholarship and grant opportunities. Our team of Financial Aid Advisors is available for support and can help you plan for financing your education at CTU.

Scholarship versus Grant: What’s the Difference?

While the terms “scholarship” and “grant” are often used interchangeably, there are differences between these two forms of financial aid. Scholarships tend to be merit-based. This means they are awarded to students with certain qualities, such as proven academic ability. Grants, however, are typically need-based. This means they are usually awarded based on a student’s financial need in conjunction with other aid sources.

Scholarships: Getting Started

When pursuing financial aid for your education, you should first explore scholarship opportunities. Scholarships can be put towards your educational costs and you don’t need to pay them back. In addition, you can sometimes use multiple scholarships to finance the total cost of your education.

One of the first places you can look for scholarship opportunities is CTU itself. We offer a variety of scholarships for eligible students to help offset the cost of their education. For each scholarship, interested students must meet scholarship criteria, which usually includes completing an application and meeting any additional requirements for consideration, such as writing an essay or submitting a letter of recommendation. We also offer several scholarship opportunities specifically to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

Some of CTU Colorado Springs scholarships include:

Career Education Scholarship Fund (CESF)

The CESF is dedicated to providing scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 per academic year to full-time students who attend a school owned by Career Education Corporation and have financial need.

Jump Start Scholarship

The purpose of this scholarship is to provide tuition assistance to full-time, undergraduate CTU students who graduated from high school within 12 months of application. A maximum of $3,000 may be awarded, distributed $500 per quarter for the first six quarters of attendance.

CTU Patriot Scholarship

CTU, in partnership with the Yellow Ribbon Fund, Inc., established an annual scholarship program awarding full tuition to wounded active duty service members or veterans as well as spouses, caregivers, and college-ready dependent children. The purpose of this scholarship is to help select service members and their families expand their education as they return to their communities or continue life with the military. The scholarship covers full tuition costs, course materials, a laptop and text books.

Grants: Getting Started

Similar to scholarships, grants are awarded to eligible students to offset the cost of attending school and do not usually have to be repaid. Grants come in many varieties, but unlike scholarships, grants are based on financial need.

The first step in applying for a federal grant is completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Based on the information you provide on the FAFSA, the government will issue you a number called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This EFC number represents the amount the government believes you (and your family, if applicable) are capable of contributing to your education. The Federal Pell Grant is awarded using this number along with several other factors to determine eligibility including whether you are attending school full or part-time.

Keep in mind, in addition to federal grants, you may also be able to access a number of state-sponsored grants, organization-sponsored grants, college-sponsored grants, and grants specific for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. CTU has several grant options for interested and eligible students, some of which include:

Advantage Grant

The purpose of the Advantage Grant is to recognize students who face extreme personal and/or financial hardships in pursuit of a degree at CTU. Current students must be in good academic standing at CTU and newly enrolled students must have been in good academic standing at their last institution. This grant is typically awarded up to $500 per academic program.

Degree Completion Grant

The purpose of the Degree Completion Grant is to provide former CTU students with the opportunity to return and complete their degree. Eligible candidates whose prior academic records indicate they are within 14 quarter hours for associate programs, 27 quarter credit hours for Bachelor programs, and/or 8 quarter credit hours for Master programs of completing a degree can receive a grant in the amount of $1,000.00.

Colorado Community College Partnership in Education Grant

This partnership recognizes students who have completed an associate’s degree at select programs from the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) and offers the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree at CTU. Those who have completed their associate’s and qualify for the CTU Transfer Program may receive a 30% tuition grant for their junior year and 20% for their senior year at Colorado Technical University.

Military Dependents Grant

CTU has established a grant for all child dependents of U.S. Armed Forces (Active duty, Reserve and National Guard) to provide these individuals with the opportunity to attend a degree program of study at CTU. The amount of the grant award is up to 40% of tuition, fees and books.

Plan Your Education

Our team of Financial Aid Advisors can help you learn more about grants and scholarships for which you may be eligible. We’re ready to support you throughout the financial aid application processes.

Request more information about our Colorado Springs campus or online programs.

Financial aid is available for those who qualify.